Give it up for Tammy Slaton!
The TLC star’s weight loss surgeon, Dr. Eric Smith, recently took to social media to celebrate his patient and all that she’s achieved over the years.
Tammy Slaton fought ‘hard for health and her future,’ doctor says
Longtime fans of 1000-lb Sisters know how far Tammy has come since the show premiered in 2020. In early seasons, Tammy struggled to lose enough weight to qualify for bariatric surgery. Her bad attitude jeopardized her relationships with her family, including her sister Amy Slaton, while her eating habits put her health in serious jeopardy. At her heaviest, she weighed more than 700 pounds. At one point, she was in a medically induced coma, and her loved ones feared she might not pull through.
But that near-death experience changed things for Tammy, who resolved to fight for her future. She entered a rehab facility and eventually lost enough weight to qualify for surgery, which she had in 2022. Since then, she’s kept the weight off (and then some), and has a new lease on life.
Smith, who was by Tammy’s side through her many ups and downs, says her transformation is truly impressive.
“I’ve watched @queentammy86 fight hard for her health and her future,” he wrote in a April 14 Instagram post. “500+ pounds lost, but what she’s gained—confidence, freedom, and joy—is even greater.”
Smith says he refused to give up on the ‘1000-lb Sisters’ star
Smith has been working with Tammy since the second season of 1000-lb Sisters. He opened up more about their doctor-patient relationship in a March 2025 episode of his Pop Culture Podcast (via YouTube).
When Smith joined the show, he quickly realized that some viewers wanted to take a tough-love approach to working with Tammy. He refused to do that.
“That’s what [viewers] thought was appropriate,” he said, saying that some people wanted to see him yell at her or even drop her as a patient. “And I used to say, ‘I don’t have to enable her by doing surgery before she’s ready. But why does she have to be on my timeline?’”
Smith said he wasn’t going to push Tammy to take drastic steps before she was ready, which could jeopardize her health. But he wasn’t going to give up on her either.
“I’m still going to be here. I’m still going to support you,” he said of his attitude. “And if you still show up and you’re not successful yet, sometimes these people just need to know somebody that won’t give up on them … that’s really all that she need[ed]. She just wasn’t ready. It wasn’t that she’ll never be ready. She just wasn’t ready [then].”
“She had to be ready to take on what we knew she was capable of doing,” he added.
1000-lb Sisters airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET on TLC.
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